Deccan Despatch (January - April 2010) - CII

The LegacyProf CK Prahalad’s Vision for India@ 75 is best expressed in his ownwords. In this foreword to the CII-Yi-BCG report on ‘India@75: The Peoples’Agenda, ’ Prof Prahalad shared his thoughts on the progress made thus far,thus far, and the challenges ahead. Some excerptsAs I write the foreword to this reportby CII-Yi-BCG on India@75:The Peoples’ Agenda, I am filledwith optimism and hope. WhenI took the opportunity at the India@60celebrations in New York to outline myideas for India@75, little did I imaginethe impact it would have on a crosssection of Indians.The CII and Yi leadership has acceptedIndia@75 as their agenda. They havemade hundreds of presentations tovarious groups. So did I from schools topolitical leaders and senior secretaries tothe government. BCG moved the agendafurther by organizing a large number ofworkshops and conducted interviewswith a wide spectrum of individuals andorganizations. They also worked withState level India@75teams. As a result,India@75 has been stress tested as muchas any idea in recent times in India.Over 21 states have India@75 documentsrepresenting their priorities. 5,500people in more than 120 seminarsaround the country have debated theidea of India@75. They include students,farmers, poor and the rich, rural andurban, politicians, industry and religiousleaders as well.There is a singular message that is loudand clear from all Indians, all ages,all geographies and all income andeducational classes. India@75 can nowbe truly called the ‘Peoples’ Agenda.’Indians want to imagine a New India;not just a minor tweaking of the Indiathey see around them. They want anIndia that is modern, socially equitable,fair and transparent. They want anIndia full of opportunities. They wantto dream. They want to work hard tomake it a reality.Five themes are consistent and standout from all these interactions over 18months. They are:1. Education is a top priorityfor all people.They want high quality education andare willing to make sacrifices to get itfor their children. They want fair access8